With tag: marijuana

Supporters of
decriminalizing - or even legalizing - the possession of small amounts of
marijuana have cleared a major hurdle. The Vermont House voted 98-to-44 on Friday
to make it a civil offense - instead of a crime - to possess one ounce or less
of pot.

Lawmakers
are
set to vote on a bill this week that would decriminalize
the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The
House Judiciary Committee has been taking testimony for weeks and the bill is
likely to pass Tuesday afternoon.

A
key House committee took testimony on Thursday about whether possessing small
amounts of marijuana should be a civil offense, not a crime. In
Montpelier, decriminalization was once
considered one of the key issues of the legislative session, but it has recently
taken a back seat.

Last
week's election energized supporters of marijuana legalization, with Colorado and Washington voters legalizing the drug in their states. In Burlington, voters passed a non-binding­ referendum with
70 percent of the vote in favor of legalizing, taxing and regulating cannabis
and hemp.

On election night, Burlington voters registered their support for legalizing marijuana in the city in a non-binding referendum. But leaders at the Statehouse say a more likely course of action is to decriminalize the drug.

Public
safety officials have given conditional approval to the state's first two
medical marijuana dispensaries, including one in Burlington. Other towns are deciding whether to opt out of the program by
crafting zoning ordinances that preclude dispensaries.

Senate President Peter Shumlin sparked controversy recently when he came
out in
support of decriminalizing marijuana. The candidates for governor have found it can be a challenging topic to
talk about.

A grassroots group spearheaded by a former state
legislator hopes to build support for reforming Vermont's marijuana laws. Proponents say Vermont could more easily control
marijuana by moving it off the streets and into state-regulated stores. Law
enforcement officials disagree.

A bill making its way through the senate would create up to five "compassion centers" to legally disburse medical marijuana. Also, one senator wants to further regulate slaughterhouses, and we celebrate the Iranian New Year.